The clock ticked rather slowly. Pia was in the library, sitting in front of the computer. She was doing her duty as a library assistant today, but there was not much to do.
She done the rounds, picked up books carelessly left on tables, refilled toner on the copying machines, helped someone with the scanner and generally done what she was meant to do. Now she was at the terminal, supposedly doing some check ups on returned books.

Supposedly. Pia was actually scanning through the registry of library cards, looking for database oddities. Here is another one.. Shokushu was a place with lots of secrets. Dark secrets. Pia knew a few of them, and knew about others. She knew enough to realize this was a dangerous place. She hoped to one day learn enough to escape those dangers, but Shokushu guarded its secrets well. The library database was not a place teeming with hidden truths, but perhaps even here, some indications could be found.

This one, registered as a sophomore, card gone unused for a looooong period, but the student has not been listed as quit, and is still a sophomore.

Pia stared out into the air. Did she have a break? Or did she disappear, like Malina, without anyone removing the traces? Or is it just a clerical error..

She twirled a pigtail with her fingers. She had no way of knowing. She could try seeking one or two out, but she had no pretext. Idly, she continued clicking though the list. This was more to keep herself busy than anything. Not much she could divine from the registry. She cast a glance at the clock on the wall.
She stretched and yawned. Not having anything concrete to do, she felt herself getting tired.. drowsy. Her eyelids grew heavy, sliding slowly downwards.

The next thing Pia would find herself being made aware of, was the sensation of someone's hand pushing against her head, lightly. After the likely eye-opening... it'd be a hand belonging to a darkish-skinned girl, in (of course) school uniform, who also wore glasses over violet eyes, and had rather long black hair. A set of books landed on the desk nearby, and the girl spoke up. "Hey, you awake now? I need to check this stuff out, okay?" Some of them were just textbooks, of widely-variant nature. There was also a book on foraging for wilderness survival, and some random novel. Her library card was also on the stack; reading off of it revealed a little bit of data, including her name (Saira Nejem) and card number.

...The same name and card number Pia had just investigated earlier and found to be anomalous. Shokushu library cards are photo-tagged, and hers definitely matched the card's, too. While Saira herself seemed to just stand there waiting, with a polite smile, the opportunity to do something about this... presented itself.

"Oh! Oh my.. sorry! I just.. let me get those for you!"

At first, Pia did not realize just what she had in front of her. Embarrassed, at being caught nodding, she leapt into action, punched the wrong code, almost miss registered the books, had to undo and start over, all while stuttering a few more apologies.

"..There! Sorry.. I kind of messed it up, but it should be all right now!"

The blonde girl smiled, and started flipping books over the scanner, beeping them in after having registered the card. It was about then Pia first started noticing the girl in front of her. That Saira was a real life database oddity was not the first thing she noticed. The first thing she noticed was that she thought the Arab girl was kind of cute.

Then she noticed the name on the card. Pia's heart skipped a beat. Did I not just look at her profile? She tried hiding her surprise, but a perceptive person would not fail to notice how her big blues widened for a second.

Pia! Say something! This might be an actual lead!

".. so, you have not been using the library a lot in a while.. Have you had a break from the studies, perhaps?" Pia said smilingly, hoping it would sound like casual chat and not prying.

At first, Saira just took all of it as pleasant conversation from a somewhat... frazzled librarian's-assistant. Messing things up out of stress, having to re-set everything... seemed normal enough. But... Saira's own eyes narrowed to match the widening of Pia's, at least after she heard the sentence that went with it. Something was up with this girl. But... she tried to sound cordial. However, the sense of surprise, worry, and... the smallest echo of suspicion couldn't help but mingle into her voice.

"I... Uh..." It was actually very surprising! She really didn't know what to say. That she didn't remember, and nor did she get a cover story... didn't help matters. Other girls said she had been out sick, or went home for money reasons, or something, but Saira knew that couldn't be right, because she'd remember those things. "Wh-why are you asking like that?... Should... should we talk about this when you're done at the... library?" Suspicion had given way to mild panic. Saira felt scared and almost intimidated by the question! This might complicate matters.

Smooth, Pia! Real smooth. I am as subtle as a sledgehammer..

Pia wanted to kick herself. The other girl seemed to be a bit flabbergasted at the question, and perhaps more than a little suspicious. Now that might mean Pia was on to something. It might also mean there was nothing there, and that Pia had been quite rude to probe. For all Pia knew, she might be a normal student, one of those oblivious to all that went on. Perhaps she had actually flunked a class, in which case Pia had been quite insensitive. Or she might actually have taken a semester off. The normal students were allowed back home, after all. Maybe she had been attending family matters, none of which were Pia's business.

"Uh.. I am really sorry, Ms. Nejem! I did not mean to pry.. It was just that your account had gone unused.. and.. err.."

This would be a good time for Pia to back off. Yet.. She could also be one of the victims. In which case she might need someone to talk to! Or she might think Pia was snooping for the administration..
What did she say? should we talk about this when you're done at the... library? Was this an invitation?

"I was just curious. Kind of a slow day. No need to stay to satiate my curiosity.. uh.. I don't get off before half an hour anyway."

Pia hoped this attempt at a recovery would help. If Saira wanted to talk, she would know when to seek Pia. If not.. would it be terribly wrong for Pia to look up her room number in the database?
Gone stalker now? Classy, Pia, classy..

Something about Pia just agreeing to her offer, though, made Saira calm down a little bit. With a nervous, yet gentle smile, she decided to go ahead with this. "...Your room or mine? I figure we can meet after you're off. Either way I'll get a chance to get out of this uniform and into something... well, that fits." A gentle smile, and she picked up her books, almost looking like she was done speaking...

...but Saira realized she missed something important. So the tan-skinned girl leaned in close to the librarian, getting very close, enough to be almost hovering over her ear. The fact that, when she started whispering, Pia could feel the warmth of her breath... probably didn't help the feeling of dire seriousness Saira was trying to convey. But it, well, may have at least improved rapport in some other way~

"I'm one of the 'special few', so you know. If you understand what that means, you'll know why I got nervous like that. Sorry." But then, she pulled back to a more normal distance.

Pia nodded almost imperceptibly. She knew all to well what Saira meant. She did not know what to say, though. It meant she was probably right about her hunch, wherever that was leading. It also meant that Saira would have tales to tell not unlike her own, horrors of her own to bear. "..sorry..", she muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"..me too.."

This was not a Tuesday, meaning she had no 'special classes' with Kanoe. She had not made arrangements to meet Susan either, so that meant Pia's social calendar was open.

"I'll.. I'll drop by your room later, if that is okay?", Pia said, smiling hopefully. "I might have a few questions.. but only if you are okay with that, obviously!"

Saira smiled broadly, but clutched her books a little tighter all the same. The girl prepared to leave, but... turned around one last time, to say one last thing.

"I wouldn't be having a meeting, if I didn't want to answer questions. See you later."

And so she left. Saira made her way straight back to her dormroom, which was hers and hers alone. Many of her decorations had only been recently dusted, little statues or paintings or even small artifacts she managed to get her hands on, one way or another. Otherwise, relatively standard - the same old bed, same old table... But at least it was as much of a home as she could have. Now that she was out of her uniform, Saira could sit atop her bed, in just a light little white nightgown over her underwear, reading one of the very books she had borrowed, while she waited.

Soon enough, the time of the meeting would come...

After a while, a few quick knock could be heard on Saira's door.

The girl waiting outside was wearing pigtails, just like in the library, with a few loose strands falling into her face. She still wore the same glasses, framing big sky blue eyes. Pia did not wear her uniform any longer. Instead she had a striped top in shades of blue, and a pale pink denim skirt. She wore a pair of clasped mary janes, and knee socks matching the top. All in all, she looked rather girlish, waiting for an answer with a shy, slightly nervous smile.

It had taken Pia a little longer to finish at the library than she had thought. Typically, a couple of rather ditzy students came in and asked for help in the last few minutes, both more than a little unclear about what exactly they wanted Pia to find, something that took time. Then one of the librarians needed a little extra help, but dismissed Pia when he understood she was impatiently glancing at the clock.

Pia practically ran to her room, quickly changing into 'civilian' clothes. She had checked up Saira's room in the database, and had noted it down in her little notebook.

Pia was not quite expecting to see her host in her nightdress, and certainly not prepared for just how pretty Saira would look with light, pale fabric against dark skin.

Rather quickly, Saira bolted over to her dormroom's door, and whipped it open. Of course, turning up in a nightgown like that - while vaguely appropriate given the territory - was indeed a different impression than she may have wanted to give. Not that it matters now.

"Ah, a bit late, but that's because you had work. Come in, come in!"

Assumedly, Saira would be able to quickly escort the other girl into her room... just so she could promptly lock it tight. She would then wander about slightly, heading over to the head of the bed to sit back down on it. "The fridge is open if you want anything. I'm just a regular student, so I don't have tons." ...Sure enough, there was some stuff. Soda, juice, milk. Various foods ranging from precut meat to a bundle of grapes to slices of leftover pizza. Meanwhile, Saira laid back a bit, leaning onto her own bed - which like most of the beds in single-occupant dorms like this one, was still decently large. (...The administration likely could guess the most probable use for them other than sleeping, and planned accordingly.)

"So. What had you wanted to know?"

Pia thanked Saira for taking the time and inviting her in in a low, slightly hurried voice. She seemed shy, all of a sudden. Quite a bit of that was because of Saira. Pia could not help it, she found the effect of the nightgown flowing around Saira's shapely figure, how it was further reinforced by the subtle energy of her movements quite attractive. The tan skin did not help either, Pia liked it, in fact, her first girlfriend had been of Arabian descent.

Pia did try to look natural about it all, but a faint blush adorned her cheeks anyway.

The blonde girl looked about herself. "It is a nice room..", she started, her eyes caught by the various objects displayed. Her curiosity was apparent in her face, and if she did not have buisniess to attend to, she would very much have liked having a closer look at some of them.

"Uh.. well.. I guess I should introduce myself, I don't remember if I did when we met..", she began, "My name is Pia Marie Hov. I am.. I am kind of one of the girls who.. who are targeted. Like you."
Pia was not certain how to continue. "I have kind of been trying to research some things.. and.." She stopped a bit. "Uh.. have you ever been abducted for a longer period of time?"

Saira thought on that... in fact, she was rather taken aback by the mention of an abduction. But, biting her lip for a second, then entering a more general pensive expression, she did answer. "I... think I already know what you're talking about. And I don't... actually remember. It went straight from a few sniffles becoming suddenly feeling very sick, like some kind of super-cold, dizzy spells, passing out a few times... then seeing this... place. High-tech, there were people around, so... it might've been the labs. I could only tell from the very futuristic ceiling lights, because I must've been laying down. Then I lost consciousness for good, until..." Saira ended her little story with a rather deep frown. "Until I woke up about 2 weeks ago or so, in my room. No notes, no cover story... I just had to find out myself that I was supposed to have been 'out sick' with a rare respiratory disease. But, after all, I'd remember that if I had done that, right? But it's now two years since I passed out back then, and... nothing else in that time. Blank."

But, nonetheless, Saira attempted to give a small disarming chuckle, while she leaned back even further onto her bed, practically all but laying on it. "Sound like anything you've looked up, huh?"

Pia immediately regretted her blunt approach. It was obvious that Saira was not comfortable with this, and Pia hated causing someone hurt, even if it was unintended. She took one step forward, halfway reaching out, as if to lend support. It was an instinctive reaction, but halted as Pia realized she might be violating the other girl's private sphere. So she froze in mid act, caught between to conflicting types of consideration.

Pia listened carefully as Saira talked. The mention of the labs made her nod. She had been somewhere like that, but it was all so.. it was hard to think about. She remembered the white wall, the bright lights. She had also been drugged, driven irrational with chemical urges.Everything else was fuzzy.

Pinkish lips pursed, Pia tried coming up with an answer. "I.. I do have some episodes of missing time. Not anything like that. A day at the longest, as far as I know. But I know sometimes, girls disappear. Sometimes permanently.."
She did not tell all about how she knew that. She had been told so by at least three sources, and she knew she was on the list. Destined to go away one day.

"..my..uh.. I have a friend. Susan is her name. Her room-mate disappeared a long time ago, but she is still waiting for her return. Maybe.. if you have returned, it might not be in vain."

"I am really sorry for bringing this up.. I guess it must be uncomfortable.."

Saira frowned, but... she sat back up, extending her own hand, and reaching for Pia's. Her voice rang deeply with sympathy. "How else would you know the truth?" Then, a soft, relaxed sigh. "Still... I'm not sure that that hope's going to be the same one. Girls probably... disappear for various reasons. Sickness, possibly related to the monsters, in my case... But someone else might suddenly be interesting to someone or something. Or... maybe they just 'graduated'. Such as this school does to them. But there's at least some hope, right? I'll keep learning things, though. I'll keep trying, okay?"

The bittersweet look on Saira's face, said all else that needed to be said.

Taking Saira's hand in her own, Pia did at first not say anything, but only shared Saira's melancholy expression. Hope.. it so often was fleeting in this place. Sometimes hovering in front of her, only to be snatched away.

"I..", Pia began, not sure how she could say what she wanted to say. "I am glad you are back.. uh.. If you.."
She swallowed, and tried again. "I am glad they did not take you away for good, whatever the reasons for taking you where. I can only guess how strange it must be to be back, without memories and all."

She sighed. "I have been trying hard to figure out what is going on here, and perhaps find a way to defend ourselves, maybe escape. I have found some answers, but the rest is like a Gordian knot."